Chase
by sristy07
Summary: Shen, Zed and their father - the Master of The Kinkou - Lord Kusho, travel to Zhyun in order to put an end to Jhin's killing spree. Their time in the province has a lot in store: new acquaintances, old friends and a fair share of nightmares. Years go by and the men are left changed. How do they brace the reality of this nightmare? Rated M for gore mainly.
1. Chapter 1: Call of Adventure

**A/N** **:** **I decided to rewrite the story because I missed out a vital point in the already published chapters. There won't be much difference, just some corrections and in the lore, Jhin used blades for his 'work' before, he recieved his gun, Whisper, only after being released from prison. So yeah, that's the vital point I missed out. Silly, right? Hehehe.**

 **This chapter and the entire story is going to contain gore. Be warned. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Chapter 1: Call of Adventure.**

Lit up fireflies and various night bugs buzzed in unison in this serene summer night; a wolf howled in a distant peak of the mountains of Zhyun; in order to fulfill the night's beautiful atmosphere, the moon shone at its full might.

Sitting atop a tree branch, wrapped in a shawl around his shoulders to protect himself from the cool summer night breeze, he breathed in...

...and breathed out.

The high spot on the tree provided a perfect vision for him to devise his plans. He spotted the many small fires built up around the huts in the village down below. People of all ages- children, middle-aged and elderly ones- sat around their respective families, enjoying the dinner in the peaceful night.

Khada Jhin's eyes darted over the entirety of the settlement, stopping over a lone figure trailing away from the central crown and further towards the outskirts of the village. A sadistic grin displayed across the face hidden under Jhin's mask. _You shall be the honoured one tonight. Or maybe... you shall be the only one NOT honoured._ He cackled to himself as he jumped down from the branch, tracing slender fingers along the smooth metal of his blade.

...

He leaned back on the backside of a wooden wall hut. The wood creaked slightly under his weight, but not loudly enough to surpass the joyful chatter of the villagers, and the flickering sound of fire when more wood was fed to it. A few children ran about. One particular boy, seemingly around the age of five, tripped over his bowl of soup in the process of following his friends around the camp fires.

"Mama, I dropped my soup. Can I have another?", he asked his mother while she stirred a pot.

"Why, yes.", she smiled down warmly at her child and poured more for him, "here you go.", hugging the little boy before he ran off.

Jhin watched the enjoyment and the peace in the settlement. His blood pumped and his body trembled at the mere thought of their blood spurting out of them. This beautiful gathering cried out for blood-spill.

 **...**

A shriek ran into the night, followed by more screams. The people scattered away from the village, running for their lives. He has come for them, the Golden Demon that stalked the province of Zhyun who brutally murdered anyone and anything it laid its eyes upon.

He moved too fast for the human eye to catch, a shadowy blur jumping from one person to the other. The fleeing villagers all trembled at the manic laughter that shrilled through the night, their faces twisted into that of horror at the sight of the bloody bodies falling around then with and without screams.

 _Whip-whip_

A blade flew past. The victim, an elderly man fell flat on the blood-soaked mud, his face was a horrifying display of two knives stuck on either of his eye sockets.

 _Whip_

Another man down. This one's mouth agape from a small knife that pierced his throat.

Jhin took note of the escaping villagers, but he made sure he was well hidden from their vision. His eyes danced over the terrified humans. "Nah-uh. You're not going anywhere.", he sing-sang. "BE HONOURED, YOU FOOLS! YOU'RE PART OF A beaaauuutiful paint...", his last two words came out in a malicious melody of melancholy.

The little boy who had not had the chance to finish his bowl of soup was clutched tightly by his mother to her body, both of them trembling tremendously and whimpering, "P-Please, please...don't kill my child. Please!", she sobbed hysterically, covering the boy with her whole body, shielding him. Her eyes widened even more as she beheld the rain of knives pouring down on them, despite the begging. On her last breath she had wished she did not have to hear the sound of her child crying out, she wished she had died before that sound reached her ears. "Nobody. Absolutely nobody will escape.", he knelt down and whispered to them, before standing back up and facing the forest trees. Turning around, he counted the dark silhouettes that lurked and trembled in fear behind the wooden barks of the trees.

' _One.'_

 _Whoosh._

' _Two.'_

 _Whoosh._

' _Three.'_

 _Whoosh._

Each of the knives embedding themselves on their targets and the soft thump of each falling body to the ground was music to Jhin's ears. "No screams?", he asked in false disappointment. "Oops, I almost forgot, your throat's wide open."

…

Dusk peeked from the purple and orange horizon, approaching the monastery of students dedicated in keeping the balance of the world.

Arms met arms. Kicks and punches were parried, the assaults of a pair of agile bodies whipped through the air. Beads of sweat continuously formed and fell over their faces and soaked their bodies. The battle was relentless, even with the large number of eyes on them, these pair of brothers would not back down, striving to beat the other- but never once succeeding.

The ultimate straw to be pulled was when Shen swung for a kick aiming for Zed's stomach, who in return, grabbed his brother's foot and tackled him to the ground. Shen leapt at the still-recovering head of Zed for a head-lock, trapping him under his arms. Zed managed to slide in a hand between Shen's arms, keeping his supply of oxygen enough for him to slide his other arm under Shen's knee and pressure him down to the ground as well.

A few students let out some low chuckles upon seeing the entanglement. But it was the master himself who stopped the sparring session, "This never ceases to end up in a serpent's embrace.", he sighed, "Get up, you two.", Lord Kusho stared at his sons with bored eyes. "Enough sparring for today. All of you return to your duties.", he dismissed the entirety of the gathering but signaled for the brothers to remain.

"Return to your dorms for now, as soon as you are finished with your night time meal, come visit me in my chambers. And do not linger outside the monastery at late night, Zed."

They bowed deeply infront of their master and stormed out the door.

"What should we eat today? What should we... ", Shen was musing out loud while Zed fumbled for the belt of his loose karategi. Shen and Zed were both brown belts in the process, shockingly at such a young age. He finally finished fixing his belt as they neared the food court.

Conversing, laughing and eating, students sat on the wooden floor having their meals. The environment was playful, these chuunin ninjas clearly enjoying their evening with each other.

"Hey, Bai. Give me the nigiri and sashimi combo.", the red-eyed boy said as he approached the chef's helper.

"I'll have chicken dounburi with miso soup.", Shen placed his order right after.

...

She spun her chakrams at an incredible speed. An ever-present grin plastered on her face. Her green robes swayed in the afternoon breeze. Her spinning never stopped, never slowed, never faltered.

Standing opposite to her stood a much younger girl, black jet hair tied up into a high ponytail. She spun her kamas with equal speed to her sparring partner. Her emerald green eyes shone with a light of enthusiasm and excitement. They circled one another, going on and about, waiting for the other to strike first. And so the older woman stopped spinning her weapons and struck at an incredible speed. The younger girl simply dodged, but the weapon still grazed her arm. A smirk played across her face as she spun to throw her kama at her opponent. But she expected that and ducked down and dashed towards the younger girl, elbowing her on the stomach. But the girl bent back, allowing her the older woman's fist to only touch her stomach. The pony-tailed girl spun a 180-degree to meet her palm with her opponent's back. After their skin contacted, they stood still for a second.

The older woman fell down, collapsing on the ground infront of her, but she protected her face from hitting the ground by placing her palms on the ground. A split second passed until she felt the sharp edge of a kama press against her neck.

"I win, mother.", Akali said triumphantly.

Her mother smirked, spinning around and threatening her chakram to her daughter's throat. "Not. So. Easy.", she hissed. They stood still for a few seconds before her mother put away her weapon,"But I'm proud of you. You would have indeed won if you hadn't let out your guard in the end.", her purple, glowing eyes met Akali's green ones. "You've grown into a fine ninja... and a beautiful young lady, Akali.", there was a pause. Akali was smiling but as soon as she caught up to what her mother was implying, she simply raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"Mother. There's nothing between me and him. He's just my training buddy.", she rolled her eyes.

"What? He's handsome. And a good fighter.", her mother countered.

"He's like a brother to me!", Akali fumed, the mere thought irritated her. How could her mother think such way of her and the boy she grew up to consider a brother.

"You two are not blood related.", her mother argued.

"But he is still not my type. He's a bit too young for me.", Akali pouted.

"So you're into older guys?", her mother made an amused face, flashing a sly grin.

"What?! Mom! I'm not having this conversation with you!", Akali threw her hands in the air and walked away. Her mother only chuckled.

...

"Shen. Zed.", Master Kusho gave them one of his most serious tones, which immediately caused the boys to stiffen. He had warned them to make sure nobody knew they were having this meeting. They were sitting legs bent and palms resting on their thighs, facing their father and Master. "We have a level-X mission to execute."

Shen gasped slightly Zed felt his mouth fall open a bit at the mention of the rank of the mission. But they nodded nonetheless.

...

 **A/N** **: Let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2: Journey

**Chapter 2: Journey.**

"I'm not used to selling tomatoes, _Shirou_.", Zed snarled while flipping a tomato in the air and catching it again.

"But you have to try, _Hiroshi_. All kinds of skills are useful.", Shirou, also known as Shen, retorted coolly.

Zed, also known as Hiroshi, scoffed and shifted in his seat on the cart, "Useful? Then why don't to try calling around to attract customers. I'm sure the money will be _useful."_

"Silence, you two!", Yakari, also known as Kusho, yelled at the two of them. "Can't you keep quiet for a good hour atleast?"

They fell silent, obviously daring not to answer their master and father. Yakari returned to spanking the bulls with his stick and continued on their way towards the province of Zhyun.

It was not a fun task for them. They had disguised themselves as merchants, the two brothers taking the roles of farmer boys. As thrilled as they were to be able to carry out an X-ranked mission, never did they expect they would have to sell vegetables in the process.

 _'Only to avoid being discovered.'_ , Zed chanted inside his head to console himself and maintain patience. The two brothers sat opposite each other, surrounded by fruits and vegetables, leaning on the wooden bars of the cart. Shen was playing with some oranges, using a knife to make intricate designs on the skin of the fruits. A smiley face. A dancing ninja. A happy yordle.

Zed leaned in and whisper to Shen, "I understand we are going to hunt an artistic maniac, but are you sure it's already time to let the vibe kick in?", he taunted.

Shen looked up to his face, stared at his brother for a moment, then looked down at his fruit again, muttering a single-worded reply, "Skills."

Zed grunted and leaned back on his seat.

Ofcourse, it was not _that_ bad. They were making stops after every two cities or so, gathering necessities for their journey. It had been two days and one night since they last stopped, so a pause was needed now.

"The next town is still one night and one day ahead of us, so we'll have to stop in the forest.", declared Kusho, slowly bringing the bulls to a halt. The empty broad road they had been following, flanked by occasional trees, had come to be formed into a much narrow and grass-filled path, but still quite wide.

Zed went ahead to scout the area and see if it was safe enough for them to spend the night. Meanwhile, Shen and his father were steering into the forest. Stopping in the middle of a small clearing, the Master of the Kinkou started untying the ropes from the bulls while Shen gathered enough wood to build a fire that would last them the night.

...

Zed shifted from branch to branch, from left to right, keeping his footing silent and accurate. He was going on a circle, scouting the area inside the circumference. So far there was nothing out of the ordinary. The lush greenery was serene to look at, the animals retreating to their homes as dusk approached. The sky was a canvas of yellow, orange and indigo.

He took a moment to appreciate the scenery, witnessing a lonely sunset. The last rays of the sinking sun cast long shadows behind Zed and the trees that surrounded him. It took a moment longer for the sun to finally vanish out of sight, leaving only the afterlight to illuminate the surroundings.

Just then, a rustle.

The young ninja's head perked up to the direction of the noise. He scanned the surroundings, but was alarmed by another rustling bush from behind him.

Zed threw a trio of shurikens at the bush, but the lack of sound of metal piercing flesh confirmed that the target had dodged. Another rustle followed the attack. But before the young shinobi could throw more shurikens, he witnessed a black blur jumping to a tree branch. He threw his ready weapons at the figure but it had already moved to another branch.

It was escaping.

Zed was following pursuit. But before he could take his next leap, a shuriken flew by infront of his face and stuck on the trunk of the tree he was crouched upon. But he kept calm.

Twilight was fading and the night was turning into navy blue.

In the dark, Zed's eyes glimmered a dangerous red as he turned towards the direction the shuriken came from.

"Stop being a coward and come out already.", he threatened.

The bushes rustled again.

The two moving figures came to a halt a dozen feet to Zed's right side. One was a young man, garbed in black ninja robes with a long shinobi sword at the ready. He had brown hair that seemed black under the night light.

The other person was a girl, dressed in equally black ninja robes with a face mask pulled up to the bridge of her nose. She had jet black hair that was tied in a high pony tail. Her eyes glimmered a dark green in the nocturnal environment, staring right into Zed's red orbs.

' _Rogue ninjas.'_

The brown-haired boy spoke, "We mean no harm. So you can stop following us."

Zed just grit his teeth. He was not one for trusting people easily. But before he could voice his questions, the two fleeting ninjas had disappeared from view, their ki aura vanishing along, which left Zed no choice but to go back.

...

"What took you so long?", Master Kusho said as he stuffed more wood into the fire, making its flickering harsher.

Zed silently walked into the clearing and took a seat against the wooden cart. He slid down his mask with his fingers and answered his father, "I encountered two rogue ninjas while scouting the nearby woods. I chased them up until a point but they disappeared after saying that they meant no harm."

Kusho only nodded in response, keeping his gaze on the fire. Shen said nothing, simply listened.

"Finish your meals,", Kusho said, gesturing towards the food cart, "we will take turns guarding the night. I'll go first."

 _ **Four hours later...**_

Zed was seating with his back against a tree, being alert for any unusual noise or movement. The fire still burned dimly, the small flames dancing around in the strengthless breeze.

It was a beautiful starry night, with the moon at its highest, illuminating everything in a silver luminance. A sparkle of green flashed inside his mind. He blinked. Then he remembered those green eyes he had seen…They were beautiful.

 _'Wavy black hair.'_ , he thought as an unpredicted smile crept up to his lips.

...

"Woaaa! Look at the detailed design on the ceramic.", a young girl cried out to her companion. They were normal villagers just like every other person in the bazaar.

Vendors would happily close their shops tonight, just like they did every Saturday night. It was the day of the week where everything was sold in excessive amount. Thus, more money.

However, a certain masked man had other intensions. He shifted from between shop-decorating curtains and went to the next stall, tapping the vendor on the shoulder from behind.

But when the man turned, he saw nobody. Estranged, he simply shrugged it off and went back to his work.

Another tap. He turned around and still nobody. This time he was annoyed and checked the insides of the shop. After careful scrutinizing, he went back to the front desk.

Yet another tap. This time, the vendor growled in irritation, "Who is there?! Show yourself!", he waited for the prankster to come out but nothing moved. He only heard a sinister chuckle, of a male voice, echo off from his stall. Something moved in his peripheral vision, causing him to look up.

He was only given the time to widen his eyes and open his mouth at his death as Jhin jumped down on the man with a knife aimed straight for his throat. He fell to the ground before he could scream. The knife went directly through his open mouth and deep inside his stomach. A crimson pool formed immediately around his body, causing the murderer to smile sadistically.

He knelt down as he sliced open the dead man's chest with the katana. The bones of his ribcage were sticking out, intestines falling out of place. More blood gurgled and bubbled out until the corpse was completely soaked in the red liquid. Now that he was satisfied, he turned his gaze towards the busy market.

' _Soon, this place will have a magnificent decoration.'_

...

It was only a day away, they were drawing close to their destination. The road had turned more silent, more eerie, the surrounding greenery now seemed to grow more lifeless the further they went on.

It had been a week without obstacles, without action, much to their boredom. However, it was mandatory for ninjas to meditate and spar everyday, which was deemed as a great method of passing time.

 _Perfect control can only be obtained by synchronising the mind and the body and it is only attained through meditation._ Master Kusho drilled this into their minds, their very souls. The star-apprentice along with the master's son were the only two students who had achieved perfect harmony at this age. That was one of the major reasons for them to be deemed worthy to execute an X-ranked mission.

Normally, they would carry out T-ranked ones for the monastery, whereas, others in the clan would carry out M-ranked ones at best. The Kinkou brothers were always ahead of their fellow ninjas, and there was none other who could surpass them there.

"Be on full alert, we have entered the Zhyun borderlands.", Master Kusho warned his sons, tipping his conical straw-hat lower.

They noted a group of patrolling guards making their way towards them. Their long swords identified them as Wuju swordsmen. As they neared enough to a shouting distance, the trio of disguised farmers were stopped, "Halt!", spoke a man who positioned himself two steps ahead of the patrolling group. He eyed them for a minute which made Zed internally snarl, "Where are you headed?"

"I am a travelling merchant from Navori, these are my sons.", he gestured behind. Shen grinned as he tipped up his conical hat, showing his scarlet red hair, whilst Zed remained unmoving but looked straight at them so they could see his face and refrain from suspecting him of hiding anything. "We are headed to Zhyun."

He scrutinized them before checking their cart and their bodies, but found nothing. They had hidden their weapons under which had another layer of wood that covered it from the underside.

"Captain!", another swordsman came up to the man and bowed before whispering something to his ear. They thought the so-called farm boys and the merchant could not hear them, but their training as ninjas taught them how to listen for the faintest of noises, "He is has reported back to duty after he left the patrolling party, we searched the perimeter and further, no sign of him, sir."

The captain's brows creased. Before he dismissed him with a nod.

...

"Master, we spotted a ninja in the forest today. He was dressed as a farmer boy and seemed new to this place.", Akali informed her mother as soon as she and Kaiyen returned home from their hunt.

"Seems like he was discreetly carrying out a task, disguising himself as such.", Kaiyen added.

"What did he look like?", their master asked, suspecting this to be someone she might know. She had seen the envoy sent from the government of Zhyun, she had some suspicions and assumptions. She strongly suspected it was to put a stop to the lose mass-murderer, and since it involved her family's safety as well, the events mattered to her.

"Dark, neck-length hair. Teenager. Red-eyes.", Akali replied.

Her mother's eyes widened a bit at the last part. "Red-eyed, you say...", she murmured with a thoughtful expression. "Are you sure?"

"Ofcourse, Master. It glowed visibly in the dark of the night.", Kaiyen replied. Their master only nodded, dismissing them for the day.

She murmured loud enough for them to catch what she was saying as she walked away, "This can't be.."

They exchanged looks at that, but spoke no more of it.


	3. Chapter 3: Traces

**A/N** **: Sup, peeps! Thanks again to the reviewers, followers and favourites.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **Chapter 3:** **Traces** **.**

"Cheap sales! Cheap sales! Freshly plucked vegetables and fruits and the best spices!", Kusho yelled to attract customers. Whereas, Shen and Zed had a tough time suppressing their laughter at their father, the highly respected, the mighty strong, one of the most powerful master ninja in all Ionia, leader of the Kinkou... selling vegetables.

It was a once in a lifetime sight. They shared a common thought, _'Maybe this trip won't be so bad afterall'_. The brothers shared a glance with grins plastered on their faces, and made their way out from behind the bull-cart.

"Hiroshi, help me with the apple boxes.", Kusho called out to Zed. With a inaudible grunt, the boy complied.

Shen who had been tasked with feeding the bulls, turned to speak to one of the two mammals and sighed, "Let's fill our stomachs before the day's work."

The black-skinned bull responded him with a groan, as if understanding what the boy said and quickly dipped its tongue in the bucket full of rice water mixed with bran.

"Your items are cheaper, are you a local? Haven't seen you here before.", asked a customer, a middle-aged woman, picking out vegetables and holding the hand of her little son.

"Travelling, actually. From city to city, but we are looking for a place to settle down. This seems to be a nice place…", Kusho laughed, looking around a bit, patting Zed on the back and then glanced back at Shen feeding the bulls at the back.

The woman had stopped picking out the vegetables she needed, almost frozen in place, and her face contorted into one of pity and unease. After a moment of silence, "Your sons?", she spared two glances at the boys.

"Yup! That's the elder one in the back and this one's the younger.", Kusho patted Zed's back again, this time with a bit more force causing the red-eyed boy to stumble forward a bit. His father was never 'so loving'. This trip really was something, giving him experiences never imagined would happen.

He tried to pry away from his father's 'warm embrace' and join his brother at the back. Family love was not his game, he would rather argue with Shen all day. But Kusho's grip on Zed's shoulder never loosened, leaving his adopted son defeated.

Zed noticed that the little boy shared a similar imprisonment, trying to wriggle his hand out of his mother's grip and straining his hand outwards the direction of another shop. Failing miserably after numerous tries, he looked up to his mother's face with a pout. Then swiped his head with a huff, locking eyes with Zed.

The red-eyed lad only glared back, revealing his sharp canines in a toothy grin. But to his surprise, the kid simply stuck out his tongue in response. "I'm not scared of monsters.", he swiped his head again with a pout, whispering just loud enough for Zed to understand.

 _'Arrogant little brat.'_ , Zed thought as his eyebrow twitched. Zed licked his canines and visibly bit his teeth together, only to be met with the rolling eyes of the little boy. Deciding he would only fail to scare the child with blunt methods, Zed's disinterested eyes darted across the marketplace.

His eyes scanned over the loosely packed crowd... the stalls... their items... a female figure with black hair and black clothes... a stack of carrots... _'wait, what?'_

His eyes flickered back to the girl, her back was turned towards his direction so he couldn't see her face. Out of suspicion and curiosity, his first instinct was to walk towards the girl, and fortunately, his father had mercifully let him loose a while back.

Zed made his way towards the girl, who was going further out from his field of vision in the gathering of so many people. He pushed through the crowd, not taking his eyes off her. Her ponytail bounced with her movements. Her arms seemed to be folded forward, probably holding a package of her shopping.

Zed was so captured by her that he failed to see another man stepping in his way, bumping with him. He recovered his sight with a grunt and cast a death glare at the man who muttered a small apology before walking away.

He turned away to look at the girl's direction, only to catch her taking a turn into an alley, allowing Zed to see the side of her face, and his suspicions were confirmed when he saw the green colour of her eye. It was the same ninja girl he had met a few nights ago. He dashed towards her direction, pushing away a few people on the way. But when he turned on the alleyway, he found nobody.

The girl had disappeared. So did her spiritual energy. _'Twice she disappears like that.'_

Zed walked forth to the other end of the alley, which led to two opposite paths, it was a T-shaped junction of alleys and the girl could only have taken one path. She would still be seen walking given the length of the narrow alleyways. But Zed found nobody, just the empty brush of wind on his face and one single leaf that just touched the ground. Sighing in defeat, he made his way back.

Above the rooftops of the houses enclosing the alleys, perched upon the brick scales, Akali's bright green eyes watched the boy walk away. The bag of food still in her hands. When he was out of sight, she jumped away to the next roof, then to the next, making her way back home.

...

They had rented two rooms in a nearby inn, leaving the cart full of food safely sealed in the market square, and assigning the bulls to a caretaking farm for the night.

Shen had been seated on a zabuton against the low, wooden table in the room he and his brother shared. On top of the table, one candle burned, the only source of light in the room.

Zed had been lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about the dark-haired girl. He assumed the girl came here often, seeing she was alone this afternoon in the market. Suddenly, he was grateful their master had chosen to sell vegetables.

A light tap on the door brought them back to attention, causing Zed to sit up on his bed. Shen opened the door for their father to enter, noiselessly closing it behind him, "It's time."

...

As they hopped from roof to roof, Kusho signaled his students with two fingers directed towards a specific door among the many wooden doors in the neighbourhood.

The three of them jumped down noiselessly infront of the door. Shen tapped twice, and was, a moment later, greeted by the sick-looking face of a young man, around the same age as the two brothers. He looked worse for wear, as if he had not slept in days. "You are?", he asked, visibly tensed by a visit from strangers.

"We want to talk about your father.", Kusho said.

"How do you know him?", the boy asked after a moment of silence.

"This is a confidential matter, I'll answer all your questions but not here.", Kusho said, avoiding himself from looking around, keeping his voice as low as possible.

The boy nodded and let them in. "Take a seat,", he gestured towards the few zabutons around a tea table. "Let me call my mother.", he said as he walked towards the shoji door. "And please, she's in bad condition. I ask that you question her with care.", he looked apologetic, "Please."

A moment later, he came out with an aged woman in tow. She looked to be in her late forties and had graying hair with newly formed wrinkles around her puffy eyes. She eyed the three visitors with a weary stare before joining them at the table, her son sitting beside her.

Nobody talked for a couple of moments so the boy spoke up, "So, who _are_ you people?"

Kusho slid down his mask and his sons mimicked. "I'm Kusho, the Eye of Twilight and the master of the Kinkou Order. These are my desciples, Shen and Zed.", he gestured left and right, "We are here to hunt down the Golden Demon and put an end to his reign of tyranny."

The boy, along with his mother, were stunned that such a highly respected individual, a true legend, the famed Lord Kusho and his sons- Shen and Zed's name went far enough throughout the lands- were here in their house, in flesh. Although they had only seen Lord Kusho in posters and sketched artworks, the features matched strikingly- red hair, red beard, stormy grey eyes and a mole just below the left side of his gruff lips- yes, he was the one. His sons were also how they had seen them in the posters.

The red-eyed boy, adopted son of Master Kusho, a handsome young lad with raven black hair and sharp facial features, sat with a stoic face.

The golden-eyed boy with red hair the same scarlet colour as his father's, he was the Master's biological son, he looked a lot like his father but had the gifts of youth latched to his face.

Now that the house residents looked more carefully, they all had weapons with them, kept discreet enough to not be flashy. The Master, clad in deep blue, had twin ninjatos strapped to his back. His son, Shen, also had two ninjatos to himself. And the other boy, the star apprentice of the Kinkou had identical daggers hanging from his hips, along with two large shurikens attached to his back that came to view as he was seated.

The woman's son wondered how he had not noticed that many weapons before, but it did not surprise him. They were high ranked ninjas. "Lord Kusho, it is an honour to have you in our abode.", the boy bowed, touching his forehead to the floor in respect.

"I came to ask for your help. I need you to tell me everything you know about this demon and your father's tragedy at his hands.", Kusho said, rather softly.

The old woman visibly shuddered, remembering the mangled mess her husband's body had been turned into, and tears formed in her wrinkling eyes. "It was an atrocity. The body delivered to us… was… _incomplete._ Parts were missing, and we did not even know if the remains we buried were his. It was such a horrible sight. Only a malicious demon can do such a thing.", she started sobbing.

Her son continued for her, allowing her the time to gather herself, "Father went on his daily work shift in the market, and it was a Saturday too, so he was supposed to return home early. But he was late and we were worried. So I went out and headed for the bazaar, but before i even left the neighbourhood, I saw a lot of guards rushing towards the same direction. I was petrified at the thought that something bad might have happened. When I got there, I had to puke at the sight of such gore. Blood and flesh were everywhere. Despite that and the protests of the guards, I managed to sneak my way into my father's shop, only to find his ribcage torn open and limbs torn apart.. and missing.", the boy was struggling to keep his posture, his voice was hoarse with unshed tears. "The sick bastard painted _lotuses_ with my father's blood, on the _ceramics_ he sold."

Shen, who was closest to the boy, put a hand on his shoulder, "I promise we'll find this monster and end him."

"Thank you.", he breathed. He made sure he was collected before he spoke again, "My father was not the sole victim, many more have died in the hands of this monster. Travelers, countryside farmers, Wuju swordsmen, not even children were spared.", he spoke with disgust in his tone. "He has been terrorizing Zhyun for several years now. In the beginning it was not so often. We'd rarely hear about such atrocities taking place. But… but now… it's everywhere.", he looked at Lord Kusho with pained eyes that glistened vengefully.

A common thought clicked in their minds, _'Wuju swordsmen? Could it that that missing guard we heard about back then...'_

Zed voiced the question the three of them had, "Do you know of any Wuju swordsman who has gone missing or was murdered by this demon?"

The boy looked confused for a bit but nodded slowly.

Shen's eyes narrowed, "Tell us what you know."

"A Wuju guardsman patrolling the outskirts of Zhyun went missing three nights ago. A number of Wuju swordsmen came asking for him in the neighbourhood but nobody knows what happened to him.

The three Kinkou shared a glance.

"Do you... know something, sir?", the boy asked respectfully.

"No, boy. It is going to help our investigation.", Kusho replied.

The elderly woman spoke up after a long silence, "We wish you best of luck, thank you for taking this upon yourselves to solve."

The boy nodded in agreement, "Truly, thank you."

...

"Found anything?", Shen asked as he dropped down from the branch.

Zed shook his head a no, "Nothing but there is a peculiar stench in this area.", he looked at Shen as he nodded an affirmative before continuing, "And the ground is darker. The grass also seems to be in an unnatural pattern, meaning signs of struggle took place...", Zed said as he walked forward a few steps, "...right. Here."

They left the area before a green clad woman emerged out of the shadows, her eyes blazing a deep crimson, watching the young ninjas leave.

...

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed. Leave some reviews to let me know what you think. Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4: Emerald and Ruby

**A/N** **:** **I want to thank you people for the warm responses, special thanks to crazyLantern for providing such a motivation boost and helping me out with a decision. Also, I had uploaded this chapter two months ago but I took it down the next day because I was dissatisfied with it. It took me two more months to upload the 'brushed' edition because I've been travelling.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **Chapter 4** **: Emerald and Ruby.**

* * *

"Sir!", saluted a guard that wore golden and black corset, bowing slightly afterwards, "We have some… evidence. Regarding the latest victim.", he clutched the hilt of his sheathed sword tighter.

The captain, a man who looked to be in his early twenties, scrutinized the much older man before him. He noted the guard's wide eyes, his rapid breathing, sweat beads forming over his face, the nervousness physically visible.

 _Fear._

"Where?", the captain asked.

* * *

It smelled _nasty._

It looked _nasty._

He gripped his sword, Ki humming within him, causing him to zone out all the noises around him. His mouth was set into a grim line. His face heated as he contemplated, his calm demeanor was crumbling, his eyes burned from staring at the mangled corpse, unblinking.

No human could have possibly done this. The victim was one of the swordsmen under his command. A _formidable_ swordsman, who was assigned _by_ him to the _patrolling_ party. His place was not among guards, it was among warriors. His fate was not supposed to be sealed by some sneaky, cowardly, demented beast. His fate was supposed to be glory, admiration and fame, fighting alongside his comrades. But _he_ had ordered the man to lend services to the lower ranked, even though he had taken note of the almost unnoticeable surprise and the slightest twitch that had formed on the man's face when he had been given the order, as if he was insulted – which he truly was – given that a skilled swordsman like him had to lead a patrolling party, even if it was for a week. But the guard had not said a word nor had he shown the slightest bit of disobedience. He had instead bowed his head and accepted his orders with utmost respect. A true Wuju swordsman.

Master Yi's head inclined down in shame, but the government had been begging them, _desperately_. He tried to console himself, but in vain.

In the following months, Yi led investigation parties for other murder cases that had recently occurred in Zhyun, he had become busy, he travelled from one scene to another. This murderer – this demon – never gave them the time to collect themselves before committing another atrocity. It was frequent before, but for some reason, the murders had drastically numbered down in the last two months.

 _Sometime after he had let those travelling merchants in_. He was surprised at his own subconscious realization. They had no possible link to the murders, but he still had a nagging feeling that somehow, this _was_ related to that seemingly inconspicuous trio.

There had been a suspicious shroud to them. Something had seemed off. Something he could not quite grasp. He remembered every detail about them – the red hair of the middle-aged man, the sharp grey eyes and their hard gaze, the similarly red hair of his son who had a goofy grin plastered on his face, a typical farmer boy. But his other son… his other son did not look like a farmer boy, _at all_. His eyes were too sharp, too calm, and a dangerous red. Both boys had well-built bodies, a bit too well-built for _farmers_.

Now that he thought about it, it was the first time he had seen a group of _travelling_ farmers. He sighed, _I still have so much to learn._ He thought about his recent promotion to the rank of a captain. He was one of the brightest of martial artists in the Wuju monastery but not the best.

He decided he would look for them. Something did not feel right, he needed to find what was amiss. Although, what called for more of his attention right now was the gruesome sight infront of him. Another brutal murder, another of his men. It would be hard to identify what parts remained. Master Yi did not look long at the corpse. He needed to collect himself first, only afterwards would he study it, so he turned away. "Any family?"

One of the guards standing shook his head "No, sir."

"Then burn the remains." Master Yi said as he started to walk away, "Scorch the ground."

Whoever was the culprit, would pay dearly.

* * *

It had been more than two weeks he had not practiced his 'art'. But he had a schedule that he was determined to follow. _Patience._ He watched his target like a hawk. He clenched and unclenched the grip on his blade, body trembling with sheer excitement at the mere thought of blood spill. He craved the thrill.

' _Patience._ ' He reminded himself. His target was feeding the fire he had built, fumbling with the bag he had been carrying. Jhin watched as he carefully shifted between the branches. His target was a ninja, dressed in black. _'A rogue. How rare.'_ , he smiled to himself. The boy was very young. Jhin let out an audible sigh as he strolled into the clearing.

The ninja's head jerked up towards the noise and he watched as Jhin took a seat on the other side of the fire… and smiled sadistically.

* * *

By the time he was finished, the green and brown of the ground had been painted red with blood. Three tree trunks had been designed with exquisite red lotuses. The body's remains had been put to good use. _'Another beautiful canvas!'_

The fire dimmed down slowly. Jhin started walking away, but stopped to glance one more time at his handiwork and revelled in the bliss it provided.

* * *

They had been sparring for hours now, neither of them would back down. It was a constant dance of kicks, punches, swipes, the clink-clank and the screeching of their weapons. They were both drenched in sweat and struggled to steady their breathing. But they were both unrelenting. Akali slashed mercilessly at her opponent, who in return blocked her attack with arms that were strapped with _tekko-kagi_. He still had not drawn his katana, as if mocking her fighting skills. The thought only boiled Akali's blood with rage, causing her to grit her teeth and attack with a renewed fury.

Kaiyen skipped to his left just as her twin kamas were about to slice his torso, avoiding fatal damage but unable to avoid the wound opening on the side of his stomach, warm blood oozing out. "So that's how we are playing, are we?" He did not look down to see his clothes rapidly staining crimson, instead threw open one hand-claw and drew his katana.

Akali smirked cockily.

In a flash, Kaiyen was behind her, hand-claw at the ready, and sword coming down on her back. The kunoichi rolled forward just as the sword was about to graze her flesh. She stood up, taking a fighting stance in a split second. The boy did not wait.

He dashed forth again. The air whipping around him from his velocity.

Akali spun towards him, kamas cutting the air in a crescent shape.

"That's enough for today.", called out their master.

Their weapons did not clash, separated by only an inch. Their minds and bodies responded out of instinct. The air whipped then stilled. When their master said it was over – it was over. The two ninjas bowed deeply in front of the older woman, clad in bamboo-green robes sporting intricate designs, her face an impassive mask. She waited for moments, "I have a mission for you two.", then turned heel, "Follow me."

They shared a glance before complying.

They rarely received missions, and whenever they did, it was either about something that was a threat to them or an assassination. Akali would often forget that her mother was still the Fist of Shadow. Her clan may have become extinct but that did not relieve her from her duty. She would carry that duty to the grave, without question. And when Akali succeeded – _if_ she succeeded – then she would be entrusted with the duty of the Fist of Shadow, and she too would carry it to her own grave, without question.

She half expected it to be another assassination but she could not be sure. She stole a glance at her friend, he seemed to maintain an impassive face.

They entered their master's quarters, noticing how eerily silent it was, how clear the shoji door sliding open and closing sounded. A single candle was lit, resting atop a low table in a corner of the spacious room. The older woman took it and ignited the other candles in the room, brightening it up considerably. It was a simple room, with a few furnitures and plain pale yellow walls – one frombwhich their master's weapons hung – and another door leading to her sleeping chambers.

She watched her disciples for a few moments before she spoke. "You are well aware of the Golden Demon's killing spree in Zhyun.", it was not a question.

They nodded. There was another moment of silence.

"One of ours has been killed.", announced their master, "Brutalized by the Golden Demon."

Akali and Kaiyen stared at her in shock, their eyes wide and alert. They never encountered or found themeselves in trouble with this entity that had been terrorizing the nearby province for a long time.

"He was carrying news from the government in Zhyun. I had sent him. The news was not very important but my disciple was. There was nothing left of the body to bury except for a few clothes to burn.", the Fist of Shadow continued.

The two teenagers nodded slowly, still saying nothing.

"I need not tell you that we do not let crimes such as these go unpunished, we do that which must be done.", she paused and studied her daughter. It was clear that Akali's mother expected her to succeed her.

Akali had composed her facial features into a stoic expression by then. Her mother was an unforgiving master.

"For now, your task is to look for every possible leads that could allow us to tail the culprit. You will move to the old shrine in the north of Jyom Pass and stay there for as long as needed. The monk who lives there has already been informed.", she instructed, her voice commanding respect.

"Yes, master.", they both said in unision.

She waited another minute, "But you will not be doing this by yourselves.", she said as she stood up and walked over to the wooden rack where her polished chakrams rested. "I will accompany you in this mission."

Their eyes widened for the second time.

* * *

Shen was rooted to his place as he beheld the horror infront of him. Behind him, his brother halted on his track, an equally disturbed look on his face. Only their father managed to keep a steady posture, his face unreadable over his mask. Kusho's eyes fluctuated between his normal grey shades and white sparks. They kept a reasonable distance from the dried pool of blood and gore. The distrbing smell making it a difficult task to approach.

"If the blades belonged to the victim then he… or she was a ninja.", Shen deducted from the twin short blades stuck on the ground. He could not really tell if the corpse was male or female, it was impossible to understand. Suddenly, he heard the faint rustle of the grass under Zed's light footfall as he stepped forward, Kusho's hand immediately shot forward, almost restraining the boy. "What are you doing?", his voice was emotionaless but had a warning edge to it.

"The clothes, I recognize them.", he said grimly, fist clenched tightly on his side.

To Shen, it was odd seeing Zed so tensed.

Even though the monster had left the dead body unrecognizable, he had not done the same to the victim's clothes. "The black face mask is identical to the one that one of the rogue ninjas I met in the forest had worn. The robe too.", he gestured at the half torn piece of clothing. _'What if it's her?'_ , the question bothered him for than necessary. ' _But neither of them were carrying these weapons.'_ , he looked at the blades again. _'Why am I behaving this way?',_ he frowned.

Unseen to his father and his brother, his tense stature was well-masked as he walked away from there.

* * *

"Did you hear? There was another murder in the forest. This was the most gruesome of them all.", a man – a long spear in hand, armour-clad and helmed – said to another similarly garbed. "Several Wuju swordsmen have been killed in the last few weeks."

"The government seems to be helpless.", the other added, much to their distress.

"Yakari! There you are. I was wondering why you had not opened up your stall yet.", one of them said to the approaching, red-bearded man. His two sons tailing some distance behind him.

"I'm sorry for the delay, had to check up on our bulls in the farm.", Yakari laughed apologetically. "We are opening right now, come."

The two guards whispered amongst themselves as they followed them through the bustling streets of the bazaar, assuming that they could not hear what they were saying. "The newly arrived Wuju master has made quite some progress on the investigation, I hear."

"He does seem to handle this better than _our_ higher-ups. And he is quite young I heard, probably mid-twenties.", the man whispered, not noticing they had already stopped and the merchant family had finished organizing the stall.

"But there–", they were interrupted when Yakari spoke up. "Go ahead and pick what you need, I'll discount you today."

A snort escaped Shen as soon as he heard his father say that. Soon after, he and Zed burst out in laughter, not missing the dangerous look their father sent them from the corner of his eyes. But they could not help it. Apparently, they still had not gotten used to their father selling vegetables for a living.

They had not exchanged a word eversince they saw the body. Each of them had been silent in their own thoughts. But the tension in the air seemed to dissipate as time passed.

* * *

It had been a couple months they moved to this province, Shen missed the sparring sessions in the Kinkou monastery, the peaceful environment and the lack of bad news and the thrill of going on missions with his brother and someimes their fellow students. They were young boys, still in the process of learning, a big portion of their training as ninjas remained incomplete. They were the best two apprentices in the monastery and greatly experienced in the art of assassination and ninjutsu, but much was left to learn. He chuckled at the memory of his excitement when they first heard about the mission, instead he wished he had not come, and wished the same for his brother. Zed grew colder and more distant day by day, it was clear that he was struggling with balancing himself. Inner peace was important. No, it was _crucial_ in maintaining balance.

He looked up at his brother as he suddenly sat up with a sigh from his futon. They had rented a small house with two bedrooms to live in for the duration of their stay. And by the winds of the events, Shen had a feeling they would be staying here long enough.

"I need some air.", Zed said as he took his twin daggers and twin shurikens and took off into the night, leaping away from the window.

With a sigh, the red-haired boy made for his father's room.

He knocked on the shoji door twice, "Father."

"Come in.", a low voice said from inside.

He slid the door open and bowed slightly before stepping inside.

Shen remained standing silently, watching his father as he worked with what looked to be news papers spread out over a large map. A few kunai had been plunged into the map, marking different locations.

Kusho shook his head, "Let him be alone for now. He will come back, let us wait.", he gestured for his son to take a seat. "Meanwhile, try working on this, see if you can find any pattern to the killings."

* * *

He crouched upon the edge of the scaled roof of the tallest temple in town. The moon hung brilliantly in the clear night sky. Occasionally, a cool breeze would flow, snapping him out of his reverie every time. He grunted. This was bad, now he was zoning out while he should be aware for potential threats. _'A ninja observes everything.'_ , he reminded himself.

Steeling his nerves, he jumped to the lower roof, then to the left, making his way towards the edge of the forest… where he had seen the corpse earlier. He could not let this affect him. He had his fair share of blood in his hands, he was an assassin too. Maybe… he would murder the Golden Demon in an equally brutal way when they catch him. _'No, I am nothing like that monster._ ', he shook his head. But he was sure of one thing. _Blood was his asset, not his weakness._

* * *

Akali ran a long ranged perimeter check in the forest. Her mother had instructed them to run daily checks, day and night. She and Kaiyen took turns, they placed traps, they hunted and made sure to inform every detail to their master after each errand.

She neared the place where a fellow ninja had been killed just the previous morning. They were instructed not to go there, since they decided to leave the body as it was, because her mother had confirmed that there was nothing left to bury. Whatever remained could be useful for the provincial guards.

In respect to his death, a funeral was being held back at home at the moment, and her mother had to be present there. She and Kaiyen were ordered to leave immediately, their master would be following shortly after the funeral was complete.

Akali crouched on a tree branch, watching the clearing from some distance. The small clearing was dark, it was scorched, the bushes and trees covered most of what the clearing looked like. She stayed for a moment longer before she decided to head back to the shrine. Just then, a dark figure leapt from the branches and stood at the foot of the scorched soil. It was clearly a male, two large shurikens that glazed silver were attached to his back. Her ankle twisted just a little, but she caught herself before she could fall, although, she could not restrain the small gasp of surprise that had escaped her. The figure's head snapped at her direction, hands reaching for the daggers attached to his hips.

She wasted no time in leaping to the other branch, if only she could near the shrine, Kaiyen would pick up the fluctuations in her Ki. She could not afford any form of injury before her mission had even started, her mother would be disappointed. The wind whipped and the branches bit her face as she sped up. But the chaser was faster. As he appeared right beside Akali, on the same branch as hers, he simply spun his foot around her ankle and made her trip. She fell on her back with a loud thump. She could feel the tip of a blade at her throat before she opened her eyes. The metallic pressure vanished soon after, "You.", she heard him say.

She opened her eyes to see the face of the same boy she had seen at the forest in the borders of Zhyun three months past. She kept her gaze steady. "You.", she said almost accusingly. She saw his face clearly for the first time, illuminated by the moonlight. His hair was raven black that fell down just over his neck, but his bangs almost covered his eyes – a brilliant shade of red, something she had never seen before. Her own mother's eyes were crimson but they never glowed.

He chuckled. "So, you are alive afterall."

This puzzled Akali. "Wasn't I supposed to?", she raised an eyebrow.

His expression turned grim as he sheathed his dagger back in place. He simply looked at the direction they had come from, towards the murder scene. "The person who was murdered dressed similarly to you and your friend."

He looked back at her as Akali stood up with a grunt. He simply smirked. He studied her face, which was covered up to the bridge of her nose by a black mask, pony-tailed hair cascading down in waves. Her eyes the same emerald green as the first time he saw her.

"He was one of ours.", she said after a moment.

He remained silent, wondering who these 'us' were.

Akali was still puzzled, "Who are you and what was your business there?"

The boy remained silent, which made her more suspicious. Her hands itched to unsheath her kamas, but the boy answered before she could do so, "I was simply running an errand."

"For who? And why were you dressed like a farm boy the other day?"

Zed could not reveal his identity to her, he barely knew her. Even if he knew her, he could not tell her. "I can't tell you." Thankfully for him, she did not press further.

' _He is surely on a secret mission and it could potentially related to the Golden Demon.'_ , she deducted.

"I know that you are on a mission.", she attempted.

He nodded. "It is dangerous here.", _'You should not stay here.',_ he stated, quickly changing the subject, finishing the sentence in his head. It was the first time he found himself saying such things to a stranger, it sounded as if he was concerned, for a complete stranger. He was not habituated with the concept 'worry for someone'.

"I am capable of taking care of myself.", she said as she turned away from him, she glanced back at him from the corner of her eye. "Goodbye, Stranger."

And then she vanished.

He lingered a bit longer, staring at the where she had been before he made for home.

* * *

 **A/N** **: OH LORD! I suck at writing a romantic build-up, so constructive criticism is appreciated.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


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